Abbreviated as SMS, the transmission of short text messages to and from a mobile phone, fax machine and/or IP address. Messages must be no longer than 160 alpha-numeric characters and contain no images or graphics.

Once a message is sent, it is received by a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), which must then get it to the appropriate mobile device.

To do this, the SMSC sends a SMS Request to the home location register (HLR) to find the roaming customer. Once the HLR receives the request, it will respond to the SMSC with the subscriber's status: 1) inactive or active 2) where subscriber is roaming.

If the response is "inactive", then the SMSC will hold onto the message for a period of time. When the subscriber accesses his device, the HLR sends a SMS Notification to the SMSC, and the SMSC will attempt delivery.

The SMSC transfers the message in a Short Message Delivery Point to Point format to the serving system. The system pages the device, and if it responds, the message gets delivered.

The SMSC receives verification that the message was received by the end user, then categorizes the message as "sent" and will not attempt to send again.